World Investment Advisors Buys 10,671 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 89.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,600 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,671 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,356,165 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $7,054,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,213 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,263,235 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,687,797,000 after purchasing an additional 540,533 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $575,103,000. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 8,781,963 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $495,215,000 after buying an additional 1,964,421 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 8,425,933 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $456,012,000 after buying an additional 234,423 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded down $1.86 on Thursday, reaching $54.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,262,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,654,657. The company has a market capitalization of $66.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.18 and a 52 week high of $61.67. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $57.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.29.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.07.

Williams Companies Profile

The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, West, and Gas & NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises natural gas pipelines; Transco, Northwest pipeline, MountainWest, and related natural gas storage facilities; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.